While data finds that 12th grade reading scores are falling "at an alarming rate," The New York Times reports, "Kids rarely read whole books anymore, even in English class."
Karen Vaites, who writes about key developments in the literacy space as well as broader challenges in K-12 education, recently told Fox News it is a "troubling trend."
"There are definitely many signs that schools are making choices to decrease the amount of books that are being taught, particularly at the high school English level," she noted.
This issue also crosses into elementary and middle school classrooms.
"The two most popular curricula in many of the U.S. states are programs, Wonders and Into Reading, that actually include no books once we get kids into those chapter book grades … where you'd expect to have whole books in classrooms," Vaites reported. "So, the popularity of these programs and the fact that these practices are continuing into high schools in many U.S. schools definitely warrant some conversation."
With surveys showing that students are only encountering one or two books in high school language arts classes, she summarized that "something's going amiss."
At least one parent told The New York Times her ninth grader listened to the audio of 'A Raisin in the Sun" instead of reading the play script. She said her son's class also watched the balcony scene of "Romeo and Juliet" instead of reading it.
But as teachers and parents express concerns and bring attention to this issue, Vaites sees a silver lining.
"Many teachers are pushing back on this idea that they ought to be teaching all year long with just passages and excerpts in order to mirror what's in the state tests, and also … that publishers have removed books from curricula in order to maximize their profit margins," she relayed.
She also commended Louisiana and Tennessee for "bucking" the national trends with book-rich curricula in elementary and middle schools, resulting in some of the strongest growth in reading outcomes.
That, she says is proof that a return to knowledge-rich curricula will reverse these trends.
"At this point, we definitely need parents calling on school board members and principals to ask for some reversals," Vaites said.
